


creeping, crawling

by halfwheeze



Series: Marvel Spookytober 2019 [5]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Childhood, First Kiss, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark at MIT, Jarvis and the Stark parents are just mentioned, Kidnapped Tony Stark, Kidnapping, M/M, MIT Era, The Many Kidnappings of Tony Stark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-05
Updated: 2019-10-05
Packaged: 2020-11-24 13:15:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20908262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/halfwheeze/pseuds/halfwheeze
Summary: when they were kids, tony stark and james rhodes met under less than ideal circumstances.they met again later, though.





	creeping, crawling

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to Day 5 of Spookytober!  
Prompt: “Why are you hanging out in a cemetery late at night?”
> 
> Also, bingo fills!:  
Marvel Rare Pair Square G4: Kidnapping  
Ironhusbands Square G5: Childhood

The first time Tony Stark met James Rhodes, it was not at MIT, though he’s not sure that Rhodey remembers the first time, or even remembers who the little boy he met that night was at all. 

“Why are you hanging out in a cemetery late at night?” Rhodey had said, startling Tony nearly out of his skin, and Tony remembers the way he had tackled the kid directly to the ground, a hand over the kid’s mouth. The kid kicked him off but stayed quiet, and even in kicking him off, the kid had been careful with Tony’s fragile bones. 

“There’s a guy, we have to be quiet. We gotta get out of here,” Tony said, still whispering, and the other kid just nodded, accepting what Tony had said as truth. It had been the first time that someone had just taken Tony at his word instead of analyzing every little bit of him, and Tony, even then, could admit that it took his breath away a little. The boy held Tony’s hand and guided him through parts of the cemetery, seemingly familiar with the terrain in a way that spoke of common visitation. 

“Where’s the guy?” the kid asked him after a moment of guiding Tony along the edge of the graveyard, their backs to a wrought iron fence. “And why is there a guy?” 

Tony shrugged before deciding to just tell the truth. 

“He kidnapped me to get back at my Dad for something. I’m not really sure  _ what,  _ because I’ve never seen the guy before, and usually my kidnappers are much more organised. He was keeping me in a  _ mausoleum,  _ which, while he gets points for theming, is so  _ insecure,” _ Tony explained, keeping his voice quiet as well as small. He was confused when the boy stopped clear in front of him, turning on his heel to look at Tony with narrowed eyes in the foggy darkness. 

“You’ve been kidnapped multiple times? Like, enough times that you have opinions on how and why you’re kidnapped,” the kid asked, finally skeptical of something that Tony has said. It was almost a relief if it didn’t hurt so much. 

“I’m Tony Stark,” Tony had said in explanation, shrugging a shoulder. The other boy snorted, unimpressed. 

“And I’m James Rhodes. Your parents should be more careful with you,” James said, sounding almost scolding, like kids could have scolded adults without getting a threat pressed into them like soldering boards. Tony held back a laugh. This boy, who could not have been two years older than Tony, was madly protective given just a moment, a very strange thing indeed. As far as Tony knew, only Jarvis was protective of him, and really only because he was paid to, no matter how much Jarvis liked to say that he cared for Tony in more ways than he was paid for. That was just something Jarvis said to be nice, Tony knew that at eight more than he knew anything else. 

“I’ll be sure to let them know,” Tony said, resisting the urge to snort again. The leaves on the ground rustled, reminding Tony of the danger that both he and James were in, he crouched down further. 

“How do we get out of here?” he asked, scanning across the yard. He probably could have made it out by himself, but since James was there, he didn’t mind asking for a bit of help. Jarvis and Ana were trying to make him better at that anyway. James squeezed his hand and led him strafing down the side of the fence, their crouches barely crunching the leaves at all as they stepped closely together. 

“The gate is over there, and if we run, we can make it to my house before anyone hears us,” James said, and he was right. They called the cops when they got there, and Maria and Howard Stark made a big show of coming to get their son, feigning sobs before Howard told Tony to, in the future,  _ man up and put up a fight next time.  _ Tony got kidnapped again on his ninth birthday, though this time, he had a black eye and a broken rib from  _ manning up.  _ Jarvis asked him to never do that again. 

Tony tried to send a letter to James Rhodes, months after, and eventually he did, but he never received anything back. 

And, well, that’s their story. That’s the first time they met, Tony thinks. There can’t be that many James Rhodes from Rhodey’s hometown, not Rhodey’s age, not that look like Rhodey and even talked like Rhodey at nine and a half years old, not with Rhodey’s kind eyes and sharp mouth. 

Tony clears his throat. He can’t stand to look up at Rhodey, just bites his lip instead. He’s a little surprised when Rhodey tilts his chin up. 

“I was your hero, huh,” Rhodey asks, looking at him with younger, softer eyes than Tony had seen in years. Tony’s eyes go back to the floor. 

“Yeah, I guess,” he says. He’s eighteen now, an adult by the skin of his teeth, and he doesn’t think he’s ready to admit that Rhodey is still his hero. That Rhodey may always be his hero, even if they drift apart again. He desperately, embarrassingly hopes that they never drift again. 

“Nothin’ wrong with that, Tones. I do remember you, you know. Just didn’t know what to do if I wanted to get up with you, and didn’t know if  _ you  _ remembered  _ me.  _ You did get kidnapped again a few months later, according to the news, and I figured it was just one kidnapping out of a whole fuckton,” Rhodey says, shrugging a shoulder. Tony bites his lip, his eyebrows coming together in a furrow. 

“I sent you a letter,” Tony says, his voice a little ragged. Rhodey raises an eyebrow, frowning in confusion. 

“I never got one. We got back to each other anyway. Must be fate, huh?” Rhodey says, frown turning into a smile before he presses a kiss to the corner of Tony’s mouth. It’s the first time he’s ever done something like that, but it still feels achingly familiar. 

“Yeah. Fate,” Tony says dumbly. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed!
> 
> Kudos and comment!
> 
> Yell at me @primekent on tumblr!


End file.
